Mine car



Mar. 13, 1923. 7 s; A. WORCESTER ET AL MINE CAR. FILED MAY15. I922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- .ll llll i l ll H I n wrow 6.- A. Woncssrew J? L. Bnucs L. .5. /77/?A//MM s A. WORCESTER ET AL.

Mar. 13, 1923.

MINE CAR. FILED MAY is, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Mar. 13, 1923.

- v S. A. WORCESTER ET AL.

MINE CAR.

HLED MAY 15, 1922.

s SHEETS-SHEET 3'.

avwe-wtow WOHCEJ 7 58 58005 fim/w/AM Patented Mar. 13, 1923.

warren stares PATENT oFFl cef SAMUEL A. WORCESTER, JAMESL. BRUCE, AND LEROY S. FARNHAIVI, OF BUTTE, IVIONTAN'A.

MINE CAR.

I Application filed May 15,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, SAMUEL A. 0mins- TER, JAMES L. BRUCE, and LnnoY S. FARN- HAM, citizens of the United States, residing at Butte, in the county of Silver Bow and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mine Cars; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in dumping cars and more particularly to those which are primarily used in mines. \Vhen the loaded cars are taken from the mine, they are rolled to a comparatively remote point, usually a chute, and there dumped, and one object of the invention is to provide latching means for holding the car body in horizontal position upon the truck, said means being of such a nature that it may be released manually before the car reaches the dumping point, and held in released position so that it will not interfere in any manner with dumping of the body at the proper time. The latching means is usually operated by foot power and when the constructions now commonly used are employed, the latch is not released until the car is to be dumped, no provision being made for holding said latch in released position. The result is that the operator necessarily holds one foot on the latch and stands on the other while overbalancing the car body to dump the same. This is a rather difiicult task which can be more easily accomplished by the use of our invention, as the person dumping the body may stand firmly on both feet.

It is well known that the automatic latches heretofore used for holding the outwardly swinging gates or doors otmine cars, often become accidentally released, with the result that the contents of the car body are partially dumped on the track or in the hoisting cage, causing serious wreckage. A further aim of our invention however is to provide a novel association of 1922'. Serial No. 561,003.

parts for positively holding the gate latch against accidental release, provision being made however for releasing the latch-holdmg means or keeper prior to releasing the gate latch, and provision is preferably made whereby both said latch and said keeper are automatically released when the body is tilted for dumping.

It very often happens that the swinging gates of mine cars are injured by the bumping of one car against another, but another object of our invention is to provide this gate with a bumper which reacts or thrusts against a fixed part of the body. In the preferred form of construction, a bumperis preferably carried by each lower corner of the gate and each bumper contacts with the bottom and one side of the car body, to exert all thrust against these parts instead of having any tendency to injure the gate.

WVith the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by theaccompanyin'g drawings. t Figure l is a side elevation of a minecar constructed in accordance with our invention. Figure 2 is an end elevation showing more particularly the mechanism for latching the car body in horizontal position.

. Figure 3 is adetailjplan view of the castupon the truck. a

Figure 4 is a vertical sectionalview taken substantially on line l-4 of Fig. 2.

Figure 5 is a duplicate of Fig; 4 with the In the drawings'above briefly described,

the numeral 1 designates asuitable truckby means of which the body is mountedwhose frame is indicated by the reference character Suitably mounted upon this frame is a body 3 which is preferably pivoted at at to a casting or bracket 5, the latter being connected with the frame 2 by means of a vertical pivot (S. The pivot t comes into play whenever the body 3 is dumped, and the pivot 6 is instrumental in permitting said body to be swung transversely of the truck when it is to be dumped at one side of the latter. Attention may here be directed to the fact that the pivot & is nearer to the outlet end of the body than to the other end thereof, so that when the body is loaded and the means released which normally holds it horizontal, said body will still remain in this position until it is dumped by hand. The outlet end of the body 3 is provided with the usual outwardly swinging gate 7, the locking means of which will be hereinafter described fully. The opposite end of the body is provided with a cross-bar 8 which is centrally depressed as indicated at 9 and here rests upon another cross-bar 10 which is secured upon one of the end sills 11 of the frame 2, the ends of said bar 10 being bent upwardly as indicated at 12 to provide a pair of upstanding guide arms which receive the centrally depressed bar portion 9 therebctween. The upper ends of these arms preferably diverge upwardly so as to guide the bar portion 9 between them when the body returns to its normal position after be ing moved from such position. In the pres ent disclosure, the latch means for holding the body 3 in normal load-carrying position, co-acts with the depressed portion of the bar 8, and is mounted upon the endsill 11 of the truck frame 2, but it will be understood that this arrangement need not be followed in all instances, even though it has proven to be very practicable.

The numeral 13 designates a vertically dis- 7088(1 latch which is pivoted at 1+1 to suitable brackets 15 carried by the end-sill 11, the upper end of said latch being provided with a suitable nose 16 to take over the depressed portion 9 of the bar 8, while the lower end of said latch is provided with a foot pedal 17. A spring 18 is preferably provided for maintaining the latch 13 in operative position, and we provide novel means whereby said lat-ch may be held in the released position shown in Fig. 5, whereby it may be released before the dumping point of the car is reached and the body may be dumped by another operator when it arrives at said point. In the preferred form of construction, the latch 13 is provided with a laterally extending projection 19 and a. keeper 2O rests normally upon said projection as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, said keeper being preferably in the form of an arm passing through an opening 21 in the end-sill 11 and pivoted at 22 to suitable brackets carried by said sill.

dumping operation of the body takes place,

and in the present showing, this means includes a coiled compression spring 23 and a push-rod 2a rising therefrom, said spring being held against upward projection when the body 3 is in horizontal position, by means of said. rod which is depressed by a suitable part ofthe body. We prefer that the rod 24 shall pass slidably through openings 25 formed in the upper and lower flanges of the sill 11 and in the cross bar 10. Also we prefer that this rod shall pass through the coil spring 23 and through a slot 26 in the keeper 20. The rod in question is provided with a nut and lock-nut 27 so that the tension of the spring 23 may be varied as occasion may require and when the latch 13 is released and the keeper 20 dropped by gravity as shown in Fig. 5, said keeper then rests upon the uppermost of the nuts 27, the rod 24 being now held in depressed position by contact of the bar portion 9 with the upper end of the push.- rod 2 1. With the parts set in this position, (see Fig. 5) the body is in readiness for dumping when the proper point is reached. lVlien said body is tilted, the bar portion 9 moves upwardly from the rod 24, with the result that the spring 23 immediately acts to thrust said rod upwardly, thereby releasing the keeper 20 from engagement with the projection 19 and allowing the spring 18 to pull the latch 13 inwardly to the position shown in Fig. at. After dumping the body, the latter returns to its normal position and the portion 9 of the bar 8 strikes the beveled nose 16 of the latch 13, whereupon said latch yields outwardly until said portion 9 rests upon the bar 10. As soon as this takes place, the spring 18 moves the latch to operative position. Attention may here be directed to the fact that during the outward movement of the latch 13, incident to return of the body to normal position. it does not move far enough to permit the keeper 20 to drop behind the projection 19.

The preferred form of gate latching means is illustrated and includes a substantially horizontal latch 30 pivotally mounted betweenits ends at 31 upon'a pair of supporting plates 32 which are secured to and extend downwardly from the body 3 adjacent the gate-carrying end of said body. The outer end of the latch 30 is provided with a beveled nose receivable in'an'ope ning34 in the latch plate 35 which depends from the gate 7. A coiled spring 36 is pref-1 in located at a point eccentric with respect to the-pivot 4. of the body 3. The result is that when the, bodydumps, the body and the bar 37 move relatively and this movement is utilized to release the latch. The

outer end of the bar 37 preferably turns downwardly as indicated at 39 for co-action' with an inclined cam 40 on the upper edge of the latch 30 (see more particularly Figs. 1, 7 and 8). Normally, that is when the body 3 is horizontal and the gate 7 is closed, the latch 30 and bar 37 are related in the manner shown in Fig. 1, but when relative movement of the body 3 and said bar takes place, the end 39 of the latter acts upon the cam 40 as shown in Fig. 7 ,thereby releasing the latch 30 and permittingthe door 7 to swing outwardly by gravity and the action of the load. v

To prevent any possibility of the latch 30 becoming accidentally released from engage ment with the latch plate 35, we provide a suitable keeper or keepers, two hooks 41 be ing shown for this purpose. These hooks are pivoted at their uppereends to the latch 30 as indicated at 42 and the lower or billcarrying ends of said hooks are adapted to take under the lower edge of the latch plate 35 as shown in Fig. 1, whereby there is no possibility of the outer end of the latch'moving upwardly and disengaging the nose 33' from said plate. Means are provided for automatically releasing the keepers or hooks 41 prior to release of the latch 30, when dumping of the body3 takes place. In the present showing, a link 43 is pivoted at one end to the lower ends of the hooks 41 andis pivoted at its other end to the lower ends of a pair of upstanding links 44, the upper ends of the latter being pivoted at 45 to th'e plate 32. The bar end 39 is provided with one or more rigid depending arms46 provided with outstanding pins or the like 47 to engage the links 44. While the pin orpins47 do not interfere with slight inward swinging of the keepers 41 against the tensionof their holding spring 48 when the door 7 is pushed to closed position and the latch 30 is consequently raised, it will be seen that when the bar 37 moves inwardly with respect to the body during dumping of the latter, said pin 47 will first pull upon the link 44, there.

by causing link43 to release the keepers 41 from engagement 'with the latch plate 35. Fiirtherj inward movement' of bar 37 with respect to the body 3,"cause's,theb ar end39 to coeact with 'thecam 40"andreleas'e the latch 30, thereby permitting the door 7 to swing outwardly for discharging the contentso'f said body. When this body is re turned to its normal position by hand, the

latch 13 automatically locksit upon the truck 4 and the gate 7 closes by gravity. If the gate should fail to latch, it is simply necessary to push the same inwardly, whereupon the latch 30will yield against theaction of its spring 36 until the nose 33 passes completely through the opening 34. l Vhen this occurs,- the spring 36 moves the latch to effective-p sition and at the same time the. spring 48 moves thekeepers 41 into engagement with the latch plate, whereby to prevent the latch from becoming released accidentally.

During passage of the cars along the track, it .often'ha-ppens that they'bump into each other with such force as to be injurious to the gates7 In order to prevent this occurrence, we provide a'buni'per carried by the gate of each car, said bumper being arranged to re-act against a solid part of the car body instead of only against the gate. In the present showing, we have provided each lower corner of the gate 7 with an inclined bumper bar'50, the ends of said bar being projected beyond the edges of thegate so that they maystrike the bottom ofthe body I 3 and the adjacent sidewall thereof. Thus, when the bumpers 50 come up against an ad acentcar, instead of having a tendency jure the latter inany niannerd" 1 I From the foregoing, the construction and side an clbottom of the car anddo not inagainst dumping,"while the latch 3'0isfactive toinjure the gate 7 they thrust.against the to lock the gate 7, being'held against ac} cidental release during rolling along the track, by means of the keeper or keepers 41 When the car nears thejpoint at which itis to be dumped, an attendant presses upon the foot pedal 17 of the latch 13, thereby'moving said'latch from engagement with the 3 car body as shown in Fig. 5.; whereupon the keeperQO drops by gravity behind the pro 'jection lt) and holds said latch in released position while the car continues ito the dumping point. flVhen this point i's'reached, the car is manuallydumped and dueto the fact that the operator at this point doesnot ha've to release the latch and hold it released with one foot, he may stand firmly upon both feet while overbalancing the body and dumping it. The moment the body tilts sufliciently to disengage the push rod 24, spring 23 is allowed to expand upwardly,

' with the result that the keeper is released from the projection 19 and the spring 18 returns the latch 13 into position to again lock the carbody when the latter returns to horizontal position. As soon as tilting of the body starts, relative movement of said body and bar 37 take place, the result being that the pins 4L7 pull upon the links ist and 13, thereby releasing the keepers all from engagement with the latchplate 35. Further relative movement of the bar 37 and body 3 causes the end 39 of said bar to co-act with the cam L0 and release the latch 3O as shown in Fig. 7, thereby permitting the gate 7 to swing outwardly. As the body returns to horizontal after dumping the load, the gate 7 closes by gravity and engages with the latch and the body also engages the latch 13, so that the car is in M; readiness to receive another load when it is It from any cause,

returned to the mine. the gate should not latch when the body returns to horizontahit is simply necessary to push said gate inwardly, whereupon it will operatively engage its holding means 3041. Similarly, though barely possible, that the bar portion 9 should not operatively engage with the latch 13, if this should occur, a downward pull on the body will sutfice to overcome the difiiculty.

Our invention is comparatively simple and inexpensive, yet is much more efiicient and reliable than a number of arrangements now commonly used upon mine cars and. while the details of construction herein disclosed have proven very effective, we do not wish to be restricted to these details otherwise than set forth inthe appended claims. Furthermore, while we have described our invention for use as a mine car, it will be obvious that dumping cars and trucks of all sorts could be equipped with our device if desired.

We claim:

i 1. The combination with a dumpin body having an outwardly swinging gate; or latch means for said gate, means for holding said latchmeans against accidental release, and means for successivel releasing said holding means and said atch means.

2. The combination with a dumping body having an outwardly swinging gate; of latch meansfor said gate, means for holding said latch means against accidental release, and

means for automatically releasing said holding means and said latch means sucoesswely.

when the body is tilted for dumping.

3. The combination with a dumping body having an outwardly swinging gate, and a truck on which said body is pivoted; of latch means for. said gate, means for holding body and connected with the truck at a said latch means against accidental release, and means for successively releasing said latch means and said holding means, includin g an operating member connected with the truck at a point eccentric with respect to the pivot of said body.

a. The combination with a dumping body having an outwardly swinging gate provided with a latch plate; of a vertically movable latch mounted on said body for engagement 7 with said latch plate, a keeper carried by said latch to engage said latch plate and prevent accidental release of said latch, and means for automatically releasing s aid keeper and said latch successively when the body dumps. i

The combination with a dumping body having an outwardly swinging gate provided with a latch plate; of a vertically movable latch mounted on said body for engagement 8a with said latch plate, a keeper pivoted toand depending from said latch to engage the lower edge of said latch plate and hold said latch against accidental release, and means for automatically releasing said keeper and 90 said latch successively when the body dumps.

6. Tn a dumping car, a. truck, a dumping body mounted pivotally thereon and having an outwardly swinging gate provided with a depending latch plate, a latch under the car body pivoted thereto for'coaction with said latch plate, a bar extending longitudinally under said body and connected with the truck at a point eccentric with respect to the pivot of the body, said bar being asso: ciated with said latch for releasing it when the bar and body move relatively during load dumping keeper pivoted to and depending from said latch to prevent accidental release thereof by engagement with said latch plate, a link pivoted to and depending from said body, a connection between said link and keeper, and a rigid arm depending from said bar and engaged with said link for bodily moving the latter and releasing said keeper prior to release of the latch. i

7. The combination with a dumping body having an outwardly swinging gate,and a truck on which said body is pivoted; of a latch for said door, and releasing means for said latch, including an operating bar connected with the truck at a point eccentric with respect to the pivot of the body.

8. The combination with a dumping body having on outwardly swinging gate, and a' truck on which said body is pivoted; of a, latch for said door mounted on said body, a bar extending longitudinally beneath the 12!) point eccentric with respect to the pivot of said body, and a cam associated with said bar and latch for releasing the latter when the body and said bar move relatively while dumping the body.

said bar being pivoted to the truck at a 9. The combination with av dumping body point eccentric with respect to the pivotvof having an outwardly swinging gate, and a said body. I y y y truck on which said body is pivoted; of a In testimony whereof we have hereunto latch for said door mounted under said body set our hands. a and having a cam, and a latch-releasing bar extending longitudinally under the body and y SAMUEL A. WORCESTER. cooperable with said camto release the latch, JAMES L. BRUCE.

LEROY S. FARNHAM. 

